'Replay center' to review refs' calls could be coming to NBA; midseason tournament is also under consideration

The NBA will begin experimental use of a "replay center" in Secaucus, N.J., to assist referees with in-game calls, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday.

"We're going to experiment with the WNBA and then use it in the [NBA] preseason," Silver said, adding that replay-center officials will queue up plays for in-game referees, who will still have the final call.

The commissioner also floated the possibility of eventually holding a midseason tournament in Las Vegas, where the NBA summer league is currently taking place.

"There's very few things that you can win in the NBA. I mean, when you think about European soccer, for example, they have the FA Cup and they have other tournaments throughout the season, so I could imagine if we were to look at some sort of midseason tournament I would imagine doing something in Vegas," Silver said. "This would be a terrific neutral-site location."

Silver also envisioned a postseason NBA awards show to be held in Las Vegas.

The commissioner said he "was moved" by LeBron James' decision to go back to Cleveland, saying he found out about it while sitting next to someone who was on Twitter.

"I think his statement about northeast Ohio, about hard work, about this being about something larger than basketball and the NBA ... I've gotten to know LeBron pretty well over the years, and so I think from that standpoint, I'm really more like a fan," he said. "This seemed to be a great moment for the league.

"What I heard from a lot of owners in the league is I wish my city were his hometown so he could come home to our market, but that's just the nature of it."